Just Breathe
by happy29
Summary: Every parents worst nightmare. Danny/ Steve, Rachel, Eric, Charlie This happened to me last week, I hope it never happens to anyone else... ever.


_For thirty two minutes, Danny Williams couldn't breathe._

Danny pulled into his drive a little surprised to see Rachel out in the front yard relaxing in one of his patio lounge chairs. Her sandals were kicked off into the grass a few feet from her chair. She had her left leg crossed over her right, swinging it back and forth slowly, the tips of her toes brushing across the tops of the freshly cut green blades. Her shades were drawn over her eyes, dark brown hair pulled into a loose ponytail and she was staring intently at her tablet nestled in her lap.

It was still hot and sunny when Danny finally returned home from the office. Steve had called him earlier in the day stating that the Governor had requested, no, more like _demanded_ , a sit down with the two of them after their latest run in with the Yakuza. And even though it was his day off and his weekend with the kids, he couldn't exactly tell the Governor ' _No'_. So Rachel agreed to come over and stay with Charlie. Grace bailed on them all, intent on spending as much of her summer vacation as she could with Will, and took off for the beach with the Grover family.

"Hey," Danny called out as he emerged from confines of the air conditioned Camaro. The air was stifling and just about took his breath away. After seven years, he still wasn't used to the humidity and cursed inwardly that at five in the afternoon it was still too sweltering to breathe easy.

Rachel glanced up from her tablet and gave Danny a friendly smile. "Hey yourself," she said casually as she twisted a strand of hair around her index finger, momentarily ignoring the tablet on her lap. "How did your meeting go?"

Danny cringed as he pushed his rolled up sleeves further up his arms. He paused behind the empty chair beside Rachel and drummed his fingertips thoughtfully against the dusty blue and green plaid cushion. "Well, it felt a whole lot like going to the principal's office and getting your wrist smacked with a ruler. That's McGarrett for you, can't do anything by the books. I blame him for the whole mess."

"That's nothing unusual," Rachel snickered and uncrossed her legs, sitting up a little straighter to stretch her back.

Danny scanned the yard. "Where're Charlie and Grace?"

"Grace went to the beach with Will's family; remember you told her she could go. And Charlie is riding his new bike up and down the sidewalk."

"How's he doing? We've been practicing for weeks." Danny swept his head from side to side waiting to catch a glimpse of Charlie on his new bike minus the training wheels.

"He's doing well." Rachel smiled sweetly and patted Danny's exposed arm tenderly. "You did good, Daddy."

"Thank you." Danny blushed. He was hoping that he was the one that got to teach Charlie to ride his bike. He had already missed out on so many other small learning moments in his son's life.

"So," Rachel sat back in her chair and lifted her shades, using them as a headband. "What is your punishment this time?" Her voice brought Danny back to the present.

"Well, for starters," Danny ducked his head and tried to smother the growing chuckle. "For starters, the Governor threatened to take away Steve's toys." Danny spun his hand in the air and his face lit up with glee at the prospect of playing it safe for once. "You know, the flash bangs, the smoke grenades, all the really big guns we have in our arsenal." Danny huffed out a laugh. "I think Steve was about to call her bluff when she made him hand over the two flash bangs he had stuffed in his cargo pants. Smart woman, our Governor. Steve's aneurism face showed up and for once went with the flow. Although, for a split second I thought he was going to toss one at her and make a run for it, just to prove some kind of point." Danny held up a hand and closed his eyes shaking his head when Rachel opened her mouth. "Don't. _I_ don't even want to know why he had them in his pants."

Rachel shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe he was expecting trouble along the way."

" _McGarrett_ is the trouble. At least _some_ of the time." Danny relented and plopped into the chair next to Rachel's, sliding down a bit and letting his head settle on the built in pillow. "I gave up asking why he is the way he is a long time ago because I never got a straight answer. Just a cheesy grin that said I was about to get shot at, _yet again_." Danny closed his eyes and breathed in the fresh air, even though it was thick. "It will all settle down, he'll play by the rules for a little bit and then things will get back to normal."

Danny could hear Rachel's breath hitch. If he was honest with himself, he wasn't too fond of the dangerous side of his job either, unlike his partner who thrived on living on the edge. But he enjoyed the actual work they did. The pay bump wasn't too shabby either. And the good they had accomplished over the seven years he had been a member of 5-0, had far outweighed the bad. Unless you count Steve needing half of Danny's liver... that was one step beyond bad. The danger of the job wasn't the only reason he and Rachel were no longer together but it played a big part in their separation. There was the _idea_ of being married to a cop and then there was the _reality_ of being married to a cop and Rachel couldn't cope with the latter. Danny really couldn't blame her either, but helping people was in his blood. And he was dedicated and good at his job, no one could argue with that. Not even his lovely ex.

Danny sat up in his chair, squinting against the sunlight. He had yet to see Charlie ride by on his bike. "How far did you say he could go?"

Rachel redirected her attention from her tablet back to Danny. "Just up and down your street. He knows not to cross the roads but to turn around at the stop signs."

Danny nodded and tried to push the worry down. "You want to join us for dinner? Steve's coming by in about an hour. I personally think he went home to check on his stash of flash bangs to make sure the governor didn't confiscate them." Danny looked over to Rachel whose attention had been drawn back into the tablet. He leaned over and shook her knee gently. "Rachel."

"Huh? I'm sorry," she apologized quickly. "What did you say?"

"I asked if you wanted to join us for dinner." Danny pushed the tablet down flush with her lap, trying to catch a glimpse of what had her undivided attention. "What are you doing anyway?"

"I'm looking for a house." She sighed and rested her head in one of her upturned hands, feeling defeated. "Stanley is selling the one here and it is too much for me to afford on my own." She gave Danny a small smile. "Dinner would be lovely."

"You heard the part where Steve's going to be there, right?"

"Yes, Daniel. I heard that part and even if I _didn't_ , I _figured_ as much."

Danny stood up and started walking towards the sidewalk, grinning wide. "Just don't make any comments on the way he eats his burgers," he called out over his shoulder. "He's an animal."

Rachel made a face but kept the snarky reply to herself. If her ex wanted to date his crazy partner, who was she to argue.

 _"Charlie!"_ Danny cupped his hands around his mouth like a megaphone and shouted his son's name. His eyes scanned the horizon for a little black and blue bike and breathed a little easier when one came into view. He watched intently as the figure approached and tried to swallow his rising fear when he realized the boy on the bike was too big to be his son. "How far did you say he could go again?" he shouted over his shoulder in Rachel's direction.

"Just down the street," Rachel replied trying not to look too annoyed that her search had been disrupted again. "He went by a few minutes ago."

Danny stepped from the yard onto the sidewalk, looking both ways up and down the street. He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and checked the time. "I've been home for ten minutes and he hasn't been by once."

Rachel stood up and dropped the tablet into the chair. "Oh God," she muttered under her breath. She looked at her wristwatch and realized Danny was right. She had lost track of time while looking for houses on the internet. She honestly couldn't remember the last time she saw Charlie sail by on the bike. "He's little he couldn't have gone too far."

Danny took the sidewalk to the left of the drive and began a brisk walking pace in search of Charlie. "Go the opposite way and I'll meet you back here," he hollered over his shoulder to Rachel who had met him at the sidewalk's edge. "I'll go a block north, you go south."

"Have you seen Charlie?" Danny asked Kevin, his neighbor two doors down.

Kevin glanced up from pruning his bushes. "Hey, Danny. He was riding his bike earlier but I haven't seen him for a while."

"If he comes by again, tell him to go home, would you?" Danny asked, his voice laced with panic. He picked up his pace, asking every person who was out in their yard if they had seen Charlie. Most had, but not in a while. By the time he made it around the block and back home, he was in full panic mode. His breathing was ragged and shallow. This is what it felt like to have an anxiety attack and not be able to breathe. Rachel had just rounded the corner and Danny ran to meet her. "Did you see him?" there was a tremor in his voice that scared Rachel. Danny was usually the one in control.

She shook her head no, fear evident on her face. Her eyes were filling with tears. "I'm so sorry. I got distracted looking for houses."

Danny pulled her into a tight hug and turned them towards his house. He fished the keys out of his pocket and handed them to Rachel as he swiped the tears from her eyes. "Take my car and go to the park a few blocks over. We go there sometimes to play. I'll go up and down every street the opposite way." He tried to remain calm, to stay in control of his emotions so Rachel wouldn't freak out, but he was dying on the inside. His stomach twisted into knots and he fought against the rising nausea. He was a cop and he knew the statistics on missing children.

Rachel fumbled with the keys. "Okay," she said with a shaky voice. "He was just right here, Danny."

"He hasn't been anywhere _near_ right here in the fifteen minutes I've been home!" Danny snapped at his ex. He hung his head when Rachel flinched. Yelling wasn't going to locate Charlie any quicker. "Look, just take my car and go. We'll find him." Danny took off down the street again screaming Charlie's name as Rachel gunned the Camaro and headed in the opposite direction. A few neighbor kids who knew the Williams family joined the search on their bikes. They could travel faster and further than Danny could by foot. But he wanted to stay close to home in case Charlie came back. With unsteady hands, he pulled his cell out of his pocket and dialed Steve's number. He answered on the second ring.

"I know I'm running late. I had to…"

"Charlie's missing," Danny cut Steve off. He was breathless as he spoke into the phone and jogged down the street at the same time.

" _What?"_ Steve gasped. "What do you mean he's _missing_?"

"It means _I can't find him_. What the hell do you think it means?" Danny slowed to a fast walk, running, breathing and talking becoming too much at the same time. "He was riding his bike and now he's gone."

"Danny, you have to stay calm."

"I am calm." Danny spun a circle on the sidewalk scouring every yard his eyes fell on for his son or his bike. "This is me… being calm… about my son... _that is missing!_ " Danny shouted into the phone.

"It isn't going to do you any good to lose your cool. I can hear it in the tone of your voice. You're getting yourself worked up."

"You can judge the tone of my voice when it's _your_ six year old that is missing," Danny barked back into the phone.

Steve conceded knowing that Danny was right. He would be frantic himself and would have probably already kicked in the doors of all his neighbors.

"I can't breathe, Steve." Danny stopped and bent over at the waist, blinking at the sidewalk, trying to get his lungs to take in some much needed oxygen. He straightened and searched the yards around him, looking again for his son's bike. "What if… what if someone…" Danny's heart stopped beating. The strong taste of bile filled his mouth. "What if someone took him?"

" _Hey hey hey!_ Danny, listen to me. Okay? _"_ Steve knew Danny well enough to know that he was in full blown panic mode. He had seen it when Danny's old partner had kidnapped Grace. "Let's not go there. Alright? He's a kid. Kids get distracted easily." Steve's eyes darted back and forth from house to house looking for either Danny or Charlie. "I'm pulling onto your street. Where are you?"

Danny looked at the street signs to see how far he had gone. "Four blocks to the north." Danny started jogging again. "Stay there. I'm coming back. Rachel's got my car," his breathing was heavy from the anxiety combined with the running.

"Okay, I'm calling Chin and Kono." Steve pulled into the driveway and killed the engine. Hopping out, he made the calls to the rest of his team asking for their help, and then he shoved his phone in his pocket and began jogging down the street.

 _"Hey!"_ Danny shouted from the opposite direction, running down the sidewalk at full speed. One hand was raised high above his head waving profusely trying to get Steve's attention, the other gripping his cell phone tightly.

Steve heard his name and spun around, running back towards Danny's house. He had never seen his partner move so fast. When Danny caught up with him, he was winded, bent over at the waist gasping for air. His face was flushed and sweaty.

 _"Anything?"_ Danny asked through gasps.

Steve shook his head at his distraught partner. "Chin and Kono are on their way." Steve stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Danny's shaking body trying to give him some form of comfort. "Breathe," he whispered into his ear.

"I can't," Danny whimpered back. Steve's embrace was suffocating and Danny squeezed his eyes shut and took a step back, trying to keep the horrible images out of his head of all the different scenarios of what could be happening to his son at the moment. He straightened himself and the world spun around him. The ground was coming up fast to meet him and he was helpless to stop it. His world tilted and Danny was certain he was about to pass out until he felt the unmistakable hand of his partner settle on the small of his back, grounding him. Danny spun around and held on to Steve with all he had and broke down. Strong hands moved along his back, doing their best to sooth and comfort him. "I got lost once when I was his age," he admitted with a trembling voice into the crook of Steve's neck. "I was just as terrified as my mom."

Steve turned when he heard the Camaro pull onto the street. His heart sank when he saw that Rachel was alone and Charlie was nowhere to be seen.

Rachel eased the car into the drive and turned off the engine. "No one at the park has seen him."

 _"Oh God!"_ Danny's knees buckled and Steve caught him before he fell. "Where could he be?"

The sound of children's laughter filled their ears and Danny pivoted out of Steve's strong hold as he spotted a group of kids riding up the street. "Is that him?" Danny demanded, pointing towards the group. He twisted his fingers from the opposite hand into Steve's navy blue shirt, the fabric pooling in his clenched fist. Danny felt sick and the bile return as the kids rode past the house, all of them older and all living a few streets over.

"Should we call the police?" Rachel asked nervously.

Steve handed her his phone as he wrapped his arms around Danny once again. Danny kept chanting, _'I can't breathe, I can't breathe'_ over and over and Steve was doing his best to keep him from hyperventilating. He had turned him towards the house and was guiding him up the drive behind Rachel. "You gotta breathe, Danny. We'll find him. I promise."

Rachel pulled the house door open and stepped inside, Steve's phone pressed against her ear talking to someone from HPD. Danny and Steve were right behind her.

"Hi, Danno!" a chipper voice rang through the air.

Danny froze and spun around. Coming up the driveway was Charlie expertly maneuvering his bicycle followed by Eric, Danny's nephew. Danny shot a look at Eric and could tell immediately he had been just as concerned about Charlie's well being. Charlie dropped the bike to the cement and ran up to Danny hugging his legs. Danny opened his mouth to speak but no words would come.

"Please don't yell at me," Eric begged as he dismounted the bike and kicked the stand into place. "I was sleeping because I've been working the night shift and there was this persistent knock at my door. I finally got annoyed with it so I got up and answered it. To my surprise there was Charlie, asking me if I'd ride bikes with him. He said you had a meeting with Steve and Aunt Rachel was at the house on her tablet."

Danny and Steve stared in disbelief. "You live half a mile away… _across_ the highway."

"I know." Eric wasn't too far from freaking out himself. "I couldn't believe he was alone. I knew you were in a meeting and I didn't want to scare you so I called Aunt Rachel and messaged her but I never got a response so I came right back here with him. I'm sorry, Uncle D."

Danny stepped forward and pulled Eric into a tight embrace. "It's okay. Thank God he knew how to get to your house and that you were able to wake up. Thank you."

"It probably helped all those days you rode your bikes over to my new place when I moved in."

Danny blew out a long breath and swiped at the tears that had formed in his eyes. Not since Grace had been kidnapped had he felt the terror that he had just experienced. His son was safe.

He pulled out his phone and hit the Amazon Marketplace app button.

"What are you doing?" Steve asked as Charlie and a very relieved looking Rachel emerged from the house.

"I'm buying that kid a GPS for his bike. I will never have that feeling of terror wash over me again."

 _After thirty two minutes, Danny took his first real breath._


End file.
